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Gunship
and AC-47 Spooky gunship, both engaging ground targets.]] A gunship is a military aircraft armed with heavy guns, primarily intended for attacking ground targets. In modern usage the term "gunship" refers to fixed-wing aircraft having laterally-mounted heavy armaments (i.e. firing to the side) to attack ground or sea targets. These gunships were configured to circle the target instead of performing strafing runs. Such aircraft have their armament on one side harmonized to fire at the apex of an imaginary cone formed by the aircraft and the ground when performing a pylon turn (banking turn). The term helicopter gunship is commonly used to describe armed helicopters. Terminology The term gunship originated in the mid-19th century as a synonym for gunboat and also referred to the heavily armed ironclad steamships used during the American Civil War. World War II aviation Bomber escort During 1942 and 1943, the lack of a usable escort fighter for the United States Army Air Forces in the European Theatre of Operations led to experiments in dramatically increasing the armament of a standard Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress, and later a single Consolidated B-24D Liberator to each have 14 to 16 Browning AN/M2 .50 cal machine guns as the Boeing YB-40 Flying Fortress and Consolidated XB-41 Liberator "heavy fighters" respectively; each meant to accompany regular heavy bomber formations over occupied Europe on strategic bombing raids for long-range escort duties. The YB-40 was sometimes described as a gunship, and a small 25-aircraft batch of the B-17-derived gunships were built, with a dozen of these deployed to Europe; the XB-41 remained a prototype only. File:Yb-40-gun-details.png|The increased machine gun armament of a Boeing YB-40 Flying Fortress, leading it to be dubbed a gunship in 1942-43 File:XB-41 Liberator 060713-F-1234S-039.jpg|Heavily armed Consolidated XB-41 Liberator gunship prototype. Note the chin and twin dorsal turrets. Attack aircraft During World War II, the urgent need for hard-hitting attack aircraft led to the development of the heavily armed gunship versions of the North American B-25 Mitchell. Four hundred five B-25G were armed with a 75 mm (2.95 in) M4 cannon and a thousand B-25H followed. The H models moved the dorsal turret forward to just behind the cockpit and were armed with the lighter 75mm T13E1 cannon. The B-25J variant, removed the 75mm guns but carried an impressive total of eighteen "Ma Deuce" AN/M2 Browning .50-cal machine guns, more than any other contemporary American aircraft: eight in the nose, four in under-cockpit conformal flank-mount gun pod packages, two in the dorsal turret, one each in the pair of waist positions, and a pair in the tail; with a total of fourteen guns either permanently aimed forward, or aimable directly forward for the dorsal turret for strafing runs. Later the B-25J was armed with eight 5 in. (130 mm) high velocity aircraft rockets (HVAR). File:Day 19 - Air Museum & Hartford (2912733923).jpg|B-25H DOG DAIZE showing 75mm M5 gun and 4 .50 Browning machine guns. Note: the size of the 75mm M5 gun to the right of the B25 nose. File:B-25H.jpg|B-25H Gunship Barbie III showing 75mm M5 gun and 4 .50 Browning machine guns and ammunition. File:B-25 Mitchell 50-calibre machine gun blister mounts.jpg|Closeup of an early model B-25 gun pod. File:B-25J Sunday Punch port view.JPG|B-25J "Sunday Punch" showing 8 nose mounted .50 Browning machine guns and 2 more on gun pods. File:B-25J Sunday Punch nose.jpg|Close-up of B-25J "Sunday Punch" showing 8 nose mounted .50 Browning machine guns. The British also made large numbers of twin-engined gunships carrying heavy guns most notably the de Havilland Mosquito. The usual fixed armament was four 20 mm Hispano Mk.II cannon and four .303 (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns. It could also carry up to 4,000 pounds of bombs in the bomb bay and on racks housed in streamlined fairings under each wing, or up to eight RP-3 rockets. de Havilland also made seventeen Mosquito FB Mk XVIII armed with 57mm auto-cannons. File:Bombing up Mosquito RAF Hunsdon 1944 IWM CH 12407.jpg|Mosquito's 4 × 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano Mk II cannon and 4 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns. File:Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Coastal Command CH14288.jpg|Mosquito armed with 8 × RP-3 rockets on wings. File:RAF Mosquito with Molins gun WWII IWM CH 14114.jpg|Mosquito showing the 57 mm Molins gun and streamlined blister used to accommodate the automatic loading mechanism The Germans also made a sizable number of heavy fighter types (Zerstörer) armed with heavy guns (Bordkanone). Dedicated "tankbuster" aircraft such as the Ju 87Gs (Kanonenvogel) were armed with two BK 37mm auto-cannons in underwing gun pods. The Ju 88P gunships were armed with 37mm, 50mm and 75mm guns, and were used as tankbusters and as bomber destroyers. The Me 410 (Hornisse) were armed with the same BK 50mm auto-cannon as the Ju 88P-4, but were only used as bomber destroyers. None of the German twin-engined gunship types were produced or converted in large numbers. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-655-5976-04, Russland, Sturzkampfbomber Junkers Ju 87 G.jpg|Ju 87Gs (Kanonenvogel) with twin 37mm autocannon in underwing gun pods File:Me 410 Hornisse with BK 5.jpg|A Messerschmitt Me 410 with a 50mm BK 5 heavy autocannon peels off from attacking a 388th Bomb Group B-17 over Europe during the USAAF campaign against Germany, 1943 Post-World War II aviation Fixed-wing aircraft In the more modern, post-World War II fixed-wing aircraft category, a gunship is an aircraft having laterally-mounted heavy armaments (i.e. firing to the side) to attack ground or sea targets. These gunships were configured to circle the target instead of performing strafing runs. Such aircraft have their armament on one side harmonized to fire at the apex of an imaginary cone formed by the aircraft and the ground when performing a pylon turn (banking turn). The Douglas AC-47 Spooky was the first notable modern gunship. In 1964, during the Vietnam War, the popular Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport was successfully modified into a gunship by the United States Air Force with three side-firing Miniguns for circling attacks. At the time the aircraft was known as a "Dragonship", "Puff, the Magic Dragon" or "Spooky" (officially designated FC-47, later corrected to AC-47). Its three 7.62 mm miniguns could selectively fire either 50 or 100 rounds per second.It can be seen in action here. Cruising in an overhead left-hand orbit at 120 knots air speed at an altitude of , the gunship could put a bullet or glowing red tracer (every fifth round) into every square yard of a football field-sized target in potentially less than 10 seconds. And, as long as its 45-flare and 24,000-round basic load of ammunition held out, it could do this intermittently while loitering over the target for hours. File:AC-47asfadfd.jpg|AC-47 note the Miniguns on the left side of the gunship File:Douglas AC-47D (modified).jpg|Douglas AC-47D File:Ac47 05.jpg|Douglas AC-47 Spooky with SUU-11/A pods, one minigun points out the cargo door, and one each points out of the two windows forward of the door. File:MXU-470.jpg|MXU-470/A minigun modules in an AC-47 File:AC-47 tracers over Saigon 1968 (colour).JPG|Night attack of a U.S. Air Force Douglas AC-47D Spooky gunship over Saigon in 1968. This time lapse photo shows the tracer round trajectories. The lesser known Fairchild AC-119G Shadow were twin-engine piston-powered gunships developed by the United States during the Vietnam War. Armed with four 7.62 mm GAU-2/A Miniguns and two 20 mm (0.787 in) M61 Vulcan six-barrel rotary cannons, they replaced the Douglas AC-47 Spooky and operated alongside the early versions of the AC-130 Spectre gunship. File:AC-119G of 17th SOS over Tan Son Nhut Air Base 1969.jpg|AC-119G File:AC-119 Stinger.png|AC-119 note the guns on the left of the fuselage File:Esquema.AC-119k.jpg|Drawing showing AC-119 guns and sensors It was the later and larger Lockheed AC-130 Gunship II that became the modern, post–World War II origin of the term gunship in military aviation. These heavily armed aircraft used a variety of weapon systems, including 7.62 mm GAU-2/A Miniguns, 20 mm (0.787 in) M61 Vulcan six-barrel rotary cannons, 25 mm (0.984 in) GAU-12/U Equalizer five-barreled rotary cannons, 30 mm Mk44 Bushmaster II chain guns, 40 mm (1.58 in) L/60 Bofors autocannons, and 105 mm (4.13 in) M102 howitzers. The Douglas AC-47 Spooky, the Fairchild AC-119, and the AC-130 Spectre/Spooky, were vulnerable, and meant to operate only after achieving air superiority. File:Ac130 gunship.jpg|Underside of a USAF AC-130U; note the 25mm, 40mm and 105mm guns; and sensors. File:Vulcan cannons on Spectre gunship.jpg|Closeup of a USAF AC-130 gunship's twin 20mm Vulcans. File:Lockheed AC-130 Spectre (7627010254).jpg|Closeup of a USAF AC-130 gunship's 40mm Bofors and 105mm Howitzer File:AC-130 gunship firing broadside at dusk.jpg|A USAF AC-130 gunship fires one of its weapons during twilight operations in 1988. Smaller gunship designs such as the Fairchild AU-23 Peacemaker and the Helio AU-24 Stallion were also designed by the United States during the Vietnam War. These aircraft were meant to be cheap and easy to fly and maintain, and were to be given to friendly governments in Southeast Asia to assist with counter-insurgency operations, eventually seeing service with the Khmer National Air Force, Royal Thai Air Force, and Republic of Vietnam Air Force as well as limited use by the United States Air Force. File:Fairchild AU-23A Peacemaker in flight.jpg|Fairchild AU-23 Peacemaker in flight File:Fairchild AU-23A Peacemaker with XM197 20mm cannon.jpg|XM197 20mm rotary cannon on an AU-23 Peacemaker Renewed interest in the concept of gunships has resulted in the development of a gunship variant of the Alenia C-27J Spartan. Although the United States Air Force decided not to procure the AC-27J, other nations including Italy have chosen the aircraft for introduction. Additionally, in 2013 the US Air Force Special Operations Command reportedly tested a gunship version of the C-145A Skytruck armed with a GAU-18 twin-mount .50-calibre machine gun system. Helicopter gunships Early helicopter gunships also operated in the side-firing configuration, an early example being the Aérospatiale Alouette III. During the Overseas wars in Africa in the 1960s, the Portuguese Air Force experimented to install M3 Browning .50 caliber machine guns in a side-firing twin-mounting configuration in some of its Alouette III helicopters. Later, the .50 caliber machine guns were replaced by a MG 151 20mm cannon in a single mounting. These helicopters were known in Portuguese service as "helicanhões" (heli-cannons) and were used in the escort of unarmed transport helicopters in air assault operations and in the fire support to the troops in the ground. The South African and Rhodesian air forces later used armed Alouette III in similar configurations as the Portuguese, respectively in the South African Border and Rhodesian Bush wars. File:Aérospatiale Alouette III Gunship-001.jpg|Rhodesian Aérospatiale Alouette III helicopter modified with fixed side-firing machine guns During the Algerian War, the French operated Sikorsky H-34 "Pirate" armed with a German 20mm MG151 cannon and two .50 machine guns. During the early days of the Vietnam War, USMC H-34s were among the first helicopter gunships in theater, fitted with the Temporary Kit-1 (TK-1), comprising two M60C machine guns and two 19-shot 2.75 inch rocket pods. The operations were met with mixed enthusiasm, and the armed H-34s, known as "Stingers" were quickly phased out. The TK-1 kit would form the basis of the TK-2 kit used later on the UH-1E helicopters of the USMC. The U.S. Army also experimented with H-34 gunships armed M2 .50 caliber machine-guns and 2.75-inch rockets. In September 1971, a CH-34 was armed with two M2 .50 caliber machine guns, four M1919 .30 caliber machine guns, forty 2.75-inch rockets, two 5-inch high velocity aerial rockets (HV AR), plus two additional .30 caliber machine guns in the left side aft windows and one .50 caliber machine gun in the right side cargo door. The result was the world's most heavily armed helicopter at the time. File:TK-1 Picture.jpg|TK-1 Armament Subsystem on the UH-34D helicopter File:Sikorsky S-58 ground bw.jpg|US Army Sikorsky S-58 gunship armed with two M2 .50 caliber machine-guns and twenty-four 2.75-inch rockets File:Choctaw helicopter gunship.jpg|US Army Sikorsky S-58 gunship armed with four M2 .50 caliber machine-guns and thirty-two 2.75-inch rockets File:Heavily armed U.S. Army copter CH-34 at Ft. Benning, GA.jpg|Heavily armed U.S. Army CH-34 Also, during the Vietnam War, the ubiquitous Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopters were modified into gunships by mounting the U.S. Helicopter Armament Subsystems—these were forward-firing weapons, such as machine guns, rockets, and autocannons, that began to appear in 1962–1963. Rotary-wing aircraft (helicopters) can use a variety of combat maneuvers to approach a target. In their case, the term gunship is synonymous with heavily armed helicopter. Specifically, dedicated attack helicopters such as the Bell AH-1 Cobra also fit this meaning. In any case, the gunship armaments include machine guns, rockets, autocannons, missiles, etc. File:UH-1B Iroquois Vietnam.jpg|UH-1B helicopter gunship File:Avhuey 05.jpg|Typical armament for UH-1 helicopter gunship. File:Ah-1cobra 1.jpg|Bell AH-1 Cobra helicopter gunship The Soviet Mil Mi-24 (NATO code name: Hind) is a large, heavily armed and armored helicopter gunship and troop transport.Mil Mi-24 Hind Gunship. By Alexander Miladenov. Osprey Publishing 2010. Pages 4–10. It was introduced in the 1970s and operated by the pre-1991 Soviet Air Force and its successors post-1991, and more than 30 other nations.OPFOR WORLDWIDE EQUIPMENT GUIDE Its armaments include machine guns, rockets, cannons, missiles, etc. Its fuselage is heavily armored and is designed to withstand .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine gun fire. Its armored cockpits and titanium rotor head are able to withstand 20 mm cannon hits. File:Mi24CP edit.jpg|Mil Mi-24 gunship Examples ;Fixed wing * Basler BT-67 * Douglas AC-47 Spooky * Fairchild AC-119 Stinger * Lockheed AC-130 * Alenia MC-27J Praetorian * Fairchild AU-23 Peacemaker * Helio AU-24 Stallion * Airbus AC-235 * Airbus AC-295 ;Helicopter * Aérospatiale Alouette III variants * SA 330 Puma in the "Pirate" variant (Pirate is the official nickname for helicopters with side-mount armament in the French ArmyPuma helicopters armed with 20mm canon in Central African Republic Les hélicoptères Puma armés de canon de 20 mm en Centrafrique ) * Boeing AH-6 * Boeing ACH-47 Chinook * Bell OH-58 Kiowa variants * Bell UH-1 Iroquois variants * Mil Mi-24 * SikorskyMH-60L Direct Action Penetrator (DAP) See also *Counter-insurgency aircraft References Notes Sources * * * * * * * }} * * *